SCB North America Joins AAAS to Protest Climate Science Inquiry

SCB North America joined AAAS and six other leading scientific organizations last week to protest a Congressional inquiry into a scientific paper published by NOAA climate scientists. The study in question, published in Science on June 4 2015, used updated and corrected temperature data to dispute evidence of a global-warming slow-down, or “hiatus”.

In a letter to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), SCB and partners expressed “grave concern” that the integrity of federal scientists’ research is being questioned despite a lack of evidence of scientific misconduct. “Science cannot thrive when policymakers – regardless of party affiliation – use policy disagreements as a pretext to attack scientific conclusions”. The letter noted that inquests of this nature could produce a chilling effect on the willingness of government scientists to conduct research that intersects with policy-relevant scientific questions.

The inquiry and subsequent AAAS-led letter has gained significant attention in the media, covered by the NY Times, NPR, and other news outlets.